Street Fighter D&D: Balrog!

Welcome to the seventh post for Street Fighter D&D 5E! If you dig this please comment or share it about or like it or what have you, check out last week’s character (Ken Masters!), and if you think this can be improved in any way don’t hesitate to speak up (@MikeMyler2 on Twitter) and let me know!

Next week I’ll be putting up Chun-Li (I think) but if there’s someone you’d like to see instead I do these by requests so let me know and we’ll get your pick in queue!

Saving Throws Str +10, Con +10Skills Athletics +10, Deception +7, Intimidation +7, Perception +7, Stealth +9Damage Resistances bludgeoning (all but psychic when raging)Senses passive Perception 17Languages Common (Soburi)Challenge 15 (13,00 XP)Action Surge. On his turn, Balrog can take one additional action on top of his regular action and a possible bonus action. Once he has used this feature, he must finish a short or long rest before he can use it again.Background Feature: Criminal Contact. Balrog reports directly to M. Bison through the Shadaloo Organization, doing as the commander bids.Danger Sense. Balrog has advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects that he can see, such as traps and spells. To gain this benefit, he can’t be blinded, deafened, or incapacitated.Fast Movement. Balrog’s speed increases by 10 feet while he isn’t wearing heavy armor.Fighting Style: Dueling. When Balrog is wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, he gains a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.Fighting Style: Two-Weapon Fighting. When Balrog engages in two-weapon fighting, he can add his ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.Feat: Charger. When Balrog uses his action to Dash, he can use a bonus action to make one melee weapon attack or to shove a creature. If he moves at least 10 feet in a straight line immediately before taking this bonus action, Balrog either gains a +5 bonus to the attack’s damage roll (if he chose to make a melee attack and hit) or push the target up to 10 feet away from him (if Balrog chose to shove and he succeeds).Feat: Stance of the Stout Boar (3). Balrog’s unarmed strikes deal an additional 1d8 bludgeoning damage, he may ignore nonmagical difficult terrain or terrain movement costs (such as from climbing or swimming) so long as all his movement is in a straight line and ends with him making a melee weapon attack, he has advantage on saving throws against effects or spells that would cause him to move, and he gains resistance to bludgeoning damage.Feat: Tavern Brawler. Balrog is proficient with improvised weapons and unarmed strikes, increases the damage dice of his unarmed strikes, and when he hits a creature with an unarmed strike or an improvised weapon on his turn, he can use a bonus action to attempt to grapple the target.Improved Critical. Balrog’s weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20.Indomitable. Balrog can reroll a saving throw that he fails. If he does so, he must use the new roll, and he can’t use this feature again until he finishes a long rest.

Rage (3). On his turn, Balrog can enter a rage as a bonus action. While raging, he gains the following benefits if he isn’t wearing heavy armor:

He has advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.

When he makes a melee weapon attack using Strength, he gain a +2 bonus to the damage roll.

He has resistance to all damage except psychic damage.

Balrog’s rage lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if he is knocked unconscious or if his turn ends and he hasn’t attacked a hostile creature since his last turn or taken damage since then. He can also end his rage on his turn as a bonus action.Once Balrog has raged three times, he must finish a long rest before he can rage again.

Reckless Attack. When Balrog makes his first attack on his turn, he can decide to attack recklessly. Doing so gives him advantage on melee weapon attack rolls using Strength during this turn, but attack rolls against him have advantage until his next turn.Remarkable Athlete. Balrog adds +3 to any Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution check he makes that doesn’t already use his proficiency bonus. In addition, when he makes a running long jump, the distance he can cover increases by 5 feet.Second Wind. On his turn, Balrog can use a bonus action to regain 1d10+11 hit points. Once he has used this feature, he must finish a short or long rest before he can use it again.Unarmored Defense. While Balrog is not wearing any armor, his Armor Class equals 10 + his Dexterity modifier + his Constitution modifier. He can use a shield and still gain this benefit.Unarmed Savant. Balrog’s unarmed strike damage increases by one step (to 1d6) due to his soburi heritage and he gains proficiency in the Athletics skill.

BALROG’S BOXING GLOVES

Wondrous item, legendary (require attunement)While wearing his boxing gloves Balrog has a +2 magical bonus on melee weapon attack rolls and damage rolls, is able to use his fighting style features with his unarmed strike, and can use both options of the Charger feat in the same attack (causing a creature shoved away with the maneuver to provoke an opportunity attack). At the start of his turn Balrog can mark one enemy as his target, increasing the reach of his unarmed strike by 5 feet against the target until the start of his next turn.

NOTES ON BALROG’S BUILD

I have long loved playing as Balrog on Street Fighter. You can find more complicated fighters (like Fei-Long) but there’s something about the efficiency the boxer has that always drew me to him. He can move quickly, he can hit hard, he has great reach, and that makes Balrog fun for me to play.

For this statblock I wanted to achieve the same things and I think I hit my marks–he’s got some situational reach with the gloves, he can charge into somebody and pummel them with 6 attacks if he manages to successfully shove, and generally he can lay out some mean punches. While I’d like him to have some higher damage output and the original plan was for a few rogue levels (so he could get some sneak attack and dash around with cunning actions), I’m really keen on the pummeling thing; I love the idea of a big, shadowy figure lurking from out of an alleyway and slamming into the party’s fighter, jabbing, uppercutting, and crossing over with big red boxing gloves before knocking their ass down.

Saving Throws Str +10, Con +10Skills Athletics +10, Deception +7, Intimidation +7, Perception +7, Stealth +9Damage Resistances bludgeoning (all but psychic when raging)Senses passive Perception 17Languages Common (Soburi)Challenge 15 (13,00 XP)Action Surge (1/short rest). On his turn, Balrog can take one additional action on top of his regular action and a possible bonus action.Background Feature: Criminal Contact.Danger Sense. Balrog has advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects that he can see, such as traps and spells. To gain this benefit, he can’t be blinded, deafened, or incapacitated.Feat: Charger. When Balrog uses his action to Dash, he can use a bonus action to make one melee weapon attack or to shove a creature. If he moves at least 10 feet in a straight line immediately before taking this bonus action, Balrog either gains a +5 bonus to the attack’s damage roll (if he chose to make a melee attack and hit) or push the target up to 10 feet away from him (if Balrog chose to shove and he succeeds).Stance of the Stout Boar (3). Balrog may ignore nonmagical difficult terrain or terrain movement costs (such as from climbing or swimming) so long as all his movement is in a straight line and ends with him making a melee weapon attack, and he has advantage on saving throws against effects or spells that would cause him to move.Feat: Tavern Brawler. When Balrog hits a creature with an unarmed strike or an improvised weapon on his turn, he can use a bonus action to attempt to grapple the target.Improved Critical. Balrog’s weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20.Indomitable (1/long rest). Balrog can reroll a saving throw that he fails. If he does so, he must use the new roll.

Rage (3). On his turn, Balrog can enter a rage as a bonus action. While raging, he gains the following benefits if he isn’t wearing heavy armor:

He has advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.

When he makes a melee weapon attack using Strength, he gain a +2 bonus to the damage roll.

He has resistance to all damage except psychic damage.

Balrog’s rage lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if he is knocked unconscious or if his turn ends and he hasn’t attacked a hostile creature since his last turn or taken damage since then. He can also end his rage on his turn as a bonus action.Once Balrog has raged three times, he must finish a long rest before he can rage again.

Reckless Attack. When Balrog makes his first attack on his turn, he can gain advantage on melee weapon attack rolls using Strength during this turn, but attack rolls against him have advantage until his next turn.Remarkable Athlete. Balrog adds +3 to any Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution check he makes that doesn’t already use his proficiency bonus. In addition, when he makes a running long jump, the distance he can cover increases by 5 feet.Second Wind (1/short rest). On his turn, Balrog can use a bonus action to regain 1d10+11 hit points.

ACTIONSMultiattack. Balrog can attack four times, instead of once, whenever he takes the Attack action on his turn (five times with a bonus action).Unarmed Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (1d8+1d6+10) magical bludgeoning damage.Balrog’s Boxing Gloves. Balrog can use both options of the Charger feat in the same attack (causing a creature shoved away with the maneuver to provoke an opportunity attack). At the start of his turn Balrog can mark one enemy as his target, increasing the reach of his unarmed strike by 5 feet against the target until the start of his next turn.